Friday, September 28, 2007

Three hundred sixty-five days...
sometimes it seems like a blink of an eye...
sometimes it seems like forever...
Praying for you every day...

"... the beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by Him; and the Lord shall cover him all day long..." Deuteronomy 33:12

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

We spent our last day together enjoying the beach at Carlsbad. After a nice breakfast together we drove the few blocks down to the beach. The kids were all excited to be able to get in ocean again. Margie was running back and forth from the water's edge screaming for joy! Christine, Abby and David went with Grace and Jon to "jump in the waves". It was a perfect sunny day!


Monday, September 24, 2007

A Wonderful Family Weekend in San Diego

To make the most of the last weekend with the kids we planned a little trip to San Diego. We all met up in Carlsbad on Friday night excited about the fun time we would have. Saturday morning turned out to be an amazing and beautiful day. No rain....just beautiful blue skies everywhere. After breakfast we drove down into San Diego for the day. Seaport Village was pretty crowded as this was the weekend of the Red Bull Air Race. We walked along the way enjoying all the sights and ended up by the USS Midway. All the kids, especially David, were very excited when we told them we were going on board! It's hard to grasp the enormous magnitude of the ship until you are standing right beside it. Once on board we explored the different decks and learned a little more about the history and impact the Midway had in the war. It was very interesting too see, feel, and smell as you went through it. While we were there the air race started and it was a little surreal to hear small planes buzzing around overhead all around us. We made it up to the flight deck and there had the best view of the whole "race course". We also had a very fun time climbing into and exploring all of the different aircraft there. The weather was perfect and seeing the daredevil pilots racing was quite breathtaking. I've put up some of the pictures and hope to get a few more soon! http://chiarapics.spaces.live.com/


Tuesday, September 18, 2007

I had such a wonderful week with the family! Thankfully I was able to work half days and spend the rest of the time with them. Wednesday they met me here at Biola for lunch and then we took in a mini piano concert and then dropped Monica off at the salon. I took the kids to run a few errands and for some ice cream =) Thursday morning we dropped them off with Uncle Jon for the day so Grace, Monica and I could have a "girls day out" at Glen Ivy Spa. It was a beautiful and very relaxing day. The kids had a blast with Uncle Jon. He took them on a balloon ride and then to the Discovery Center.
Friday we planned a family get together and Colombian dinner. Donna, Greg & the kids came from AZ.
The cousins had a great time playing together for the first time. The food was delicious and I enjoyed having a "full house". The kids (especially Margie) enjoyed playing with Adam. I wish we all didn't live so far apart!

Margie and Adam doing the "monster" face!

To see more pics click on "Ruth's pics" link to the right

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Fun times with the kids!
Monday afternoon we packed up the kids and drove out to Carbon Canyon Regional Park. We took a nice long hike along the park to the hidden redwood forest. Everyone had a great time. Christine enjoyed herself taking lots of pictures. Abby kept us updated on our nature walk by reading all the descriptive scientific tree names. David built a trap with his lasso (and almost stepped on a big lizard!) Margie had fun running here and there. Finally we hiked back and then took the kids to the playgrounds. When was the last time you played on the swings? It is fun to enjoy these things with the kids. See pics here: http://chiarapics.spaces.live.com/
On Tuesday, Aunt Grace and I took them to Shaw's Cove in Laguna Beach. This is a beautiful hidden cove with a wonderful view. We explored the tide pools with anemones or "enemies" as little Margie said. The kids played in the water even though it was freezing cold! Margie and I had fun playing tag in the sand. Later we drove to Balboa Island in Newport Beach and ate dinner at Ruby's on the pier. We enjoyed a beautiful sunset... a perfect ending to a wonderful day.
Always in our hearts and prayers
9/11/07

Friday, September 07, 2007

The Kids Are Here!
My brother and his family have arrived from Georgia for a visit here in California. They dropped by my office this afternoon to see Auntie Ruth. We have lots of fun plans for the kids. They will be staying with me this week...fun times! We are hoping to have a family reunion coming up soon (our first in three years). I am so blessed to have these wonderful kids in my life! I'm sure I'll be posting lots of pictures soon.

Thursday, September 06, 2007

House Warming Party

This past Saturday I celebrated my being back at my "old" place by having a house warming party. I feel so blessed to be back at such a beautiful location and have space to entertain again! I had about twenty two friends come and enjoy it with me. Preparing all the food for everyone was a lot of fun. I made barbecued pulled pork for the first time. It was really good! Grace and Abby helped me to assemble the veggie kabobs and Jon grilled them. After eating to our hearts content we took a little walk down the road to see the sunset (and the neighbour's llamas!). Every morning when I wake up I thank the Lord for His wonderful provision and love. There are more pics here:

http://chiarapics.spaces.live.com/